It is well-known that various types of freshly cut produce emit noxious gasses that, for example, irritate eyes and cause unwanted tear production. Such gasses have also been implicated in abnormal vision, anxiety, fatigue, lack of concentration, mood disorders, decreased productivity, potential cardiovascular problems, and central nervous system abnormalities. Of course, these symptoms may affect the social, personal, and professional lives of individuals, particularly culinary professionals (and others working in the food industry).
Among the most well-known gasses is syn-propanethial-S-oxide, which is emitted from freshly cut onions. Indeed, most are familiar with the irritating and tear-causing sensation that results from cutting and chopping onions in open air. Syn-propanethial-S-oxide is both gaseous at room temperature and water soluble. The formation of syn-propanethial-S-oxide peaks at about 30 seconds after mechanical damage to an onion and completes its cycle of chemical evolution over the course of about five minutes. As the gas leaves the onion and begins to mix with the air, it may quickly contact and dissolve in the watery film that covers a person's eyes. This combination produces sulfuric acid, which irritates the nerve-endings found in the cornea, resulting in elevated tear production until such acid is sufficiently diluted and/or removed.
A number of devices have been developed in attempt to minimize the extent to which such gasses contact a person's eyes during onion cutting procedures. Many of these devices employ mechanical means, such as chambers, to trap such gasses in attempt to prevent eye contact. Other devices have used forced air to sweep away such gasses and prevent the same from contacting a person's eyes.
Many of these devices, however, suffer from one or more drawbacks. For example, many of these devices (i) are not able to prevent a substantial portion of the undesirable noxious gas from contacting a person's eyes, (ii) leave the gas trapped in a chamber which must later be cleaned (thereby potentially exposing the user to such gas during the cleaning process), (iii) are not adapted for household or individual use, and/or (iv) require the use of elaborate and expensive fans, motors, or other machinery. In light of the foregoing, a continuing need exists for improved devices and methods that may be used to cut produce while minimizing exposure to certain noxious gasses that are emitted by such freshly cut produce, e.g., minimizing exposure to the syn-propanethial-S-oxide gas that is emitted by freshly cut onions.
As the following will demonstrate, many of the foregoing needs are provided by the present invention.